Tuesday, March 22, 2016

It's OK to Go Up the Slide: Renegade Rules for Raising Confident and Creative Kids by Heather Shumaker

Reviewed by Laura the Librarian

Parenting often involves a series of uncomfortable moments, and Shumaker gives real-world examples and sage advice on how to deal with them. Shumaker is a proponent of outdoor play, children taking risks and limiting the use of screen time. She also tackles some other hot-button issues like banning homework in elementary school and reconfiguring kindergarten. 

Shumaker is up front in her introduction that readers may love one chapter and not the next. And that may be true depending on what stage of development your child is at. This book addresses topics facing preschool to mid-elementary school kids.

If your child refuses to say hi to friends or kiss family members; doesn't want to participate in group activities; or asks you questions about difficult subjects like terrorism, racism, etc., Shumaker presents strategies to best deal with these scenarios. She provides a framework of how kids may view these situations and offers words to use and to avoid when discussing. The book challenges parents to re-evaluate expectations that society places on our children and ourselves. A valuable resource for many parents.